Perhaps the Key is Conversation

Conversation appears to be a lost cause, replaced by today’s technology.  While at work, I enter the break room to make my way to the restroom.  Do I see employees visiting, laughing, and joking while eating a snack or lunch?  No…I see employees with shoulders hunched over, ignoring co-workers while they text or read the cell phones in front of them.  On the off chance they are holding a conversation; it is frequently interrupted by the all important text messaging or social media alerts.

Back in the day before cell phones and other portable electronic devices, lunch, or even dinner out with friends or family, meant a time to visit and converse while we broke bread together.  We talked about home life, work life, children, parents, spouses, boy/girlfriends, friends, travel, school, marriage, births, divorce, politics and religion among numerous other topics.

Even further back in the day when there was no television or even movie theaters, a night out on the town meant people talking and conversing about great topics of the day.  Art, politics, war, current events, and community scandal was discussed to find solutions, attempt resolutions, or simply to discuss or debate a topic at length.  Is the younger generation losing the ability to verbalize with each other these same types of topics?  Are they becoming stunted, destined to communicate only via text with abbreviations such as OMG, WTF, BRB, LOL or even simply the Like button?

Unfortunately, my own behavior oftentimes mirrors that of the younger generation.  Instead of calling, I’ll often simply send a text because it’s faster, easier, and less committal.  But in trying to save time, it appears I may be losing out on a personal, emotional connection one can only have with a verbal conversation.  

Lately I’ve mentally scolded myself when I’ve ended up on my phone during dinner with my loved ones.  Aren’t they worthy of all my time rather than the bits and pieces they are given while I scan Facebook and my email?  The conversations I share with my boyfriend, my children, my friends, and my family provide me with improved communication and long-lasting memories; shortening or even declining these personal discussions, replacing them with social media updates from friends I haven’t seen in 20 years is deplorable.

Here’s a toast to setting the phone aside and my renewed committal to increasing verbal, high-quality conversation in my life!  This doesn’t mean my texting or Facebook membership will disappear, it simply means they will be relegated to the bottom of my importance list.